A major restructuring in France and the yellow vests weighed down the accounts of Belgian retailer Louis Delhaize (not a part of the Ahold Delhaize group). The owner of Cora and Match also suffered losses in Belgium and Romania.
Gilets jaunes
The Louis Delhaize group saw its net result crash from a positive 204 million euros in 2017 to minus 929 million euros last year. The operational result went down to -883 million euros, turnover remained stable at 8.7 billion. Its two French chains suffered from a major restructuring and the ‘gilets jaunes’ movement, but a settlement in Romania cost the retailer a fair amount as well.
Belgian results suffered as well: the retailer points to a decrease in consumption and an “extremely competitive market“. Match Belgium saw its losses increase from 13.1 million to 14.2 million, Cora improved slightly and saw its losses decrease from 19.4 million euros to 17.8 million.
Olivier Haller, CEO Cora Belgium & Luxembourg, hopes for positive effects from its purchase alliance with Carrefour, resulting in the second biggest purchase alliance in Belgium.
